Self-Awareness & Communication HCOM 100 Instructor:________________

Self-Concept: Who are you? Self-concept refers to your subjective description of who you think you are. Self-image is your view of yourself in particular situations

Self-Concept Components Attitude: a learned predisposition to respond to a person, object, or idea in a favorable or unfavorable way. Beliefs: The way in which you structure your understanding of reality (true/false). Values: Enduring concepts of good and bad, right and wrong.

One of Many Selves? The Material Self The Social Self The Spiritual Self

The Material Self The material self is a total of all the tangible things you own: Your body Your possessions Your home

The Social Self The social self is that part of you that interacts with others: You change based on interaction with others. Each relationship you have with another person is unique.

The Spiritual Self The spiritual self consists of all your internal thoughts and introspections about your values and moral standards: It is the essence of who you think you are. It is a mixture of your spiritual beliefs and your sense of who you are in relationship to other forces in the universe.

How the Self-Concept Develops Our communication with other individuals Our association with groups Roles we assume Our self-labels

Self-Concept: Communication with others We don’t come to know ourselves in a vacuum. Charles Horton Cooley advanced the notion of the figurative looking glass. Self-concept development begins at birth

Self-Concept: Association with Groups Our awareness of who we are is often linked to who we associate with: Religious groups Political groups Ethnic groups Social groups Peer pressure is a powerful force in shaping attitudes and behavior.

Self-Concept: Assumed Roles Your self-concept likely reflects the roles you assume: Mother Brother Teacher Student Gender asserts a powerful influence on the self-concept from birth on.

Self-Concept: Self-Labels Self-concept is affected by others but we are not blank slates. Self-reflexiveness is the human ability to think about what we’re doing while we’re doing it. Through self-observation we discover strengths which encourage us to assume new labels.

Self-Esteem: What is your value? While self-concept refers to your description of who you are, self-esteem refers to your evaluation of who you are. Your self-esteem can fluctuate and rise or fall within the course of a day.

Self-Esteem: Gender Differences In patriarchal cultures, women and girls suffer loss of self-esteem to a greater degree than men and boys. Boys often feel better able to do things than girls. Differential reinforcement (athletics)

Self-Esteem: Social Comparisons We become more aware of ourselves by measuring ourselves against others, a process called social comparison. It can be self-defeating to take social comparisons too far, to cause your self-esteem to suffer because you compare yourself unrealistically to others.

Self-Esteem: Self-Expectations Self-expectations are those goals we set for ourselves. Self-esteem is affected when you evaluate how well you measure up to your own expectations. Be weary of placing unrealistic demands on yourself.

Self-Esteem: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy The self-fulfilling prophecy refers to the idea that what you believe about yourself often comes true because you expect it to come true. Your level of self-esteem affects the kinds of prophecies you make about yourself and colors your interpretation of events.

Communication & the Enhancement of Self-Esteem Our feelings of low self-worth may contribute to many of our societal problems. Communication is essential in the process of building and maintaining self-esteem.

Communication & Self: Engage in POSITIVE self-talk Intrapersonal communication involves communication within yourself – self-talk. Your self-concept and self-esteem influence the way you talk to yourself. Your inner dialogue also has an impact on your self-concept and self-esteem. Self-talk is related to the building and maintaining of one’s self-concept.

Communication and Self: Visualize Visualization involves “seeing” yourself exhibiting some desirable behavior. Apprehensive public speakers can manage their fears by visualizing positive results: Reduce negative self-talk Enhances confidence and speaking skill

Communication and Self: Develop Honest Relationships Have at least one other person that will give you honest, objective feedback. You need a “straight scoop” Stuff that’s the hardest to hear about you Nobody else would dare tell you Trust enough to deal with the tough stuff

Communication and Self: Surround Yourself With Positive People Surround yourself with people who have higher levels of self-esteem Don’t engage in pity parties Immunize yourself from negativity

Communication and Self: Lose your baggage Avoid constantly re-living negative experiences. Let go of past experiences that cause your present self-esteem to suffer.

The Perception Process Stage One: Attention and selection Stage Two: Organization Stage Three: Interpretation

Communication and the Enhancement of Perceptual Accuracy Increase your awareness Avoid stereotypes Check your perceptions Indirect perception checking Direct perception checking

What questions do you have? Homework: Reading Turn in assignment